Transporting New Zealand is calling on NZTA to review its international truck licence conversion processes, after the Agency revoked 440 commercial heavy vehicle driver licences following the discovery of fraudulent activity.
Transporting New Zealand Chief Executive, Dom Kalasih says the national body supports a rigorous licence conversion process, and says NZTA needs to be flagging issues during the application phase, rather than through large-scale auditing processes.
“We support NZTA’s move to ensure incorrectly licenced drivers aren’t operating on the road. Truck drivers are in a position of real responsibility, so all road users need to have confidence in the licencing system that qualifies them,” said Mr Kalasih.
NZTA revoked the licences after the discovery of false or altered documentation provided by individuals converting overseas licences to New Zealand licences.
Inconsistencies in the documents provided during the conversion process were discovered during an audit undertaken by the Agency in July.
“NZTA has processes in place to ensure that truck license conversions are done safely, right from the beginning. Countries that require similar driving skills and have similar licencing systems are considered ‘exempt countries‘,” said Mr Kalasih.
“Drivers from these countries go through a conversion process involving a detailed application, theory test, and a practical test only in limited circumstances. There are 25 exempt countries, including Australia, Japan, South Africa and the United Kingdom.
“NZTA’s conversion process for non-exempt countries is more rigorous. This starts with an application at a specialist overseas conversation site, a theory test, a licence with a supervisor condition, and then a practical test, finally resulting in a New Zealand driver license.
“Our road freight company members want to know that NZTA is being appropriately thorough, so that they can have confidence in migrant drivers with converted licences. As well as the important safety considerations, truck drivers are transporting valuable cargo.”
Mr Kalasih says that, in addition to licence conversion, many road freight companies send their own driver assessors overseas to make their own assessment of migrant drivers’ abilities.
“I know that our members have been going to real lengths to ensure migrant truck drivers have the necessary skills to operate safely.”
“We will be seeking reassurance from NZTA about ensuring their overseas licencing application processes are fit for purpose, and offering Transporting New Zealand’s assistance to NZTA in this regard,” he said.
